People in the Sport

Olav Zipser 

Olav is known as the father of freefly. 

He has over 13,000 freefly jumps and is a master in the sky; controlled, creative and always doing something new. 

Olav invented Space Balls,  Atmopshere Dolphin Licences and the Space Games. 'Games' is well named; to Olav it is all playing in the sky.

George Pilkington shares Olav's  experiences...

When was your first jump and what was it like?
1986, an AFF jump and I pulled the wrong handle... Whoops! So I found myself under a round reserve! I had no clue what had happened. I landed on a round reserve, very disappointed, as they had told me I would jump a modern square parachute. I had to buy a case of beer! I started skydiving because I couldn't find a hang-gliding place, I found a DZ instead.
would be WONDERFUL!

You used to be a flat flyer, what did you get up to?
When I had 150 jumps I was invited by the 4-way and 8-way German national team. My best results in 4-way and 8-way were silver at the German Nationals in both.

What inspired you to fly 'unconventionally'?
I first started to fly in an unconventional manner during the AFF making Loopidoos! (somersaults - Ed) I learned scuba diving when I was eight and I loved to watch dolphins playing around each other. Flying in the air like dolphins, together around each other in the air at different speeds and directions. . . ooh la la! ... I thought this 

The Clowns are perhaps the most widely known freeflyers. Who are they and what was it all about?
I called myself a freefly clown because I was clowning around with my flying performances, having fun around conventional flying. By now we have five Freefly Clowns, I have taught them all and shared my love for human body flight, we have all put years of time into it. We competed everywhere we could and worked all our skills as best as we could together and divided again so that we would spread the Freefly Knowledge around quicker.

I always liked more to follow my own imagination. And then share the information by teaming up, rather then team up straight away and experiment difficult things as a team. It was hard in the beginning to find a team, at the time I didn't find anyone who would trust my imagination for five years. The first person I found who would understand and have my same flying philosophy was Mike Vail, Freefly Clown #2, together we became Freestyle World Champions in '93. Then Omar, Clown #3. He hired me to teach him to become a World Champion. With him I could show to the skydiving community what a cameraflyer's potentials are. No-one before ever flew around someone and showed such different angles and perspectives. I met Charles Bryan, Freefly Clown #4 in '94. He was a natural and a great spirit. Then comes Stefania, a girl! ... together we could do things that I could have never done with a guy in the air space.....just imagine the 'Beaver Eater' and you get the idea! (I am reliably informed this is a freefly formation - Ed)

Tell me about your Emmy Award
The Emmy Award I won in '95 as best Electronic Cameraperson. I was cameraflying for Gau Martinengo. Gau was the first Skysurf female World Champion in '94. We took fourth place at the 1st X Games Event, she was the only female to make the finals.

Tell me about your event, the Space Games
For a long long time I've competed at every single event twice (as performer and cameraflyer). I always imagine different rules, different games, better competitions. I conceived the Space Games as the ultimate competition. The aerial pure man on man race. Before you open your parachute you know if you won or lost. Lots of adrenaline. I also included other Games such as the fabulous Speed Race. I like the competitors to be their own judge, this is my perfect competition. In the Games, for two of the one-on-one races (AD Challenge, Freefly Indy Car) we don't need any real judges besides the competitors themselves and the video. For the Fastest Human, there's no discussing, 'Evolution 2000' is the judge with precise data ready in the computer. For the tracking race, who opens furthest away (not lower than 3000ft AGL) is the winner of the round.

We will have more games to add as soon as we have more licenced 'Atmosphere Dolphins'. We are very fortunate to have a signed two year contract with A1 Internet for $100,000 per year for prize money, organisation and production costs of the Space Games. We will organise up to four events a year.

Are webbed gloves good for freeflying?
Wings and palm gloves are like starting in the 100m swimming Olympic race with scuba-diving fins on!

When did you first encounter the 'Space Ball'?
I used to jump with oranges and from the very first orange jump I realised that anything you release in the open space, requires extreme safety precautions! I put most of my effort to follow safety precautions before I tried to fly with anything else in the air and I experimented with a lot of things including pool balls, melons, a water heater and convertible cars! The space ball version seems to be the most reliable toy for the sky if you have the right flying ability. In our 1st School of Modern Skyflying, we don't allow anyone to jump with a spaceball unless a Spaceball Master is present. I do not recommend anyone to try this at home!

What is your most memorable skydive?
My jump number seven, first jump alone without an instructor above a complete cloud ceiling at 3,000 feet; flipping and spinning around enjoying the freedom of space hopping above the clouds, flying my parachute towards a rainbow, not knowing where I was, not caring at all. Loved it!

What has been your 'closest call' in life?
Hitting a car in the air.

How would you like to be remembered?
I don't have an exact answer for that question, but you may find it in the words of Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach, my favourite author: 

"We have the choice, every day to learn and move forward or to repeat what we already know and remain stagnant, flat or still. With learning comes the fear of the unknown but, at the same time, the satisfaction of discovery. All people can feel this satisfaction but because of the fear involved, most choose to remain in the safety of the still world...

" The majority of people have the idea of learning or LIFE, backwards. they hold on things we have already discovered or learned, never asking if there is more. The few of us who choose to live are the ones that are often looked down on, or called strange, but in reality are the ones that advance the masses by raising the bar of knowledge and discovery. This of course is part of the test...

" We are lucky enough to have opened our eyes to the gift of sight and our responsibility is to share this vision with those who are willing to see and teach those with closed eyes that they can be opened. For in our wide field of vision we see that we are not great people high on mountain, but children who have just begun to walk. We open our eyes in stages and the hardest step is the first stage... of accepting that we can do anything we wish as long as we put our minds into it ... "

Olav was talking to George Pilkington

Contact Olav at ffclown1@aol.com 

www.1Olav.com 

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